Dear Shale Protestor,

First I was invited to be on the panel.  Then I was uninvited.  Then I was told that I couldn't be on the panel, but I could present for ten minutes to the audience. Oh please!  Here's the editorial I wrote that is running in the Syracuse newspaper today about the whole sorry affair.

"I’m sure it was a packed house at the Landmark Theatre on Saturday night. The docu-farce Gasland was screened followed by a panel discussion moderated by Alec Baldwin. It fleetingly crossed my mind to attend, but I knew I would not be welcome. 

I am a trained engineer who has spent my career in the energy business.  Alec Baldwin’s crowd is probably not interested in what I have to say.  It’s not dramatic and flies in the face of the most of the stereotypes being pushed. There’s no little guy being taken advantage of.  There’s no robber baron corporation. There’s no government conspiracy plot.  Plus, the science and facts take more than ten minutes to understand.

Gasland was screened as if it is an expose of what is happening outside of New York, and what will happen in New York if hydraulic fracturing is permitted.  The truth is that it’s a slight of hand that has duped a lot of people and is making civil discussion of the future of natural gas almost impossible. Entertainers -- like Josh Fox and Alec Baldwin – want to cause a commotion.  It’s good for their business, themselves.

Gasland leads you to believe that “fracking” is new. The truth is that hydraulic fracturing to make wells more productive is more than 60 years old.  It is used in 90% of oil and gas wells, many geothermal wells and even water wells.

Gasland perpetuates the lie that 596 harmful chemicals pollute every job. The truth is that the entire list of chemical additives is available on Fracfocus.org, a searchable database with well-by-well records. In New York, revealing all additives is required to receive a permit to drill. Proportions are proprietary, just like any other “recipe.” Look at any canned or packaged food you eat: there are ingredients and chemicals galore, but not the percentages or amount.

Gasland continues to spread the myth that the oil and gas industry is unregulated by the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. The truth is that the industry is highly regulated on both the federal and state levels. New York state regulations are among the toughest.

Finally, Gasland is mostly famous for the flaming faucet. The truth is that low concentrations of methane are pervasive in the Earth’s crust and easily accumulate in water wells.  Lighting kitchen water on fire is an old party trick.  It’s nothing new in some parts of the country and guaranteed to cause a stir every time.

 

Gasland reminds me of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds, except it’s not that original. Watch Truthland, which was posted on YouTube a few days ago, and learn the story that Josh Fox chose not to tell because he thought it was “irrelevant.”

So had I gone to the Landmark Theatre on Saturday night, I would have asked a few questions, beginning with:  Who walked?  Who rode a bicycle?

Next I would ask:  Who heats their home?  Who has air conditioning?  Who reads at night? 

Then I would ask members of the audience to take off all blended or polyester fabrics, remove shoes with synthetic soles, discard plastic water bottles and Solo cups, sit on the floor instead of plastic chairs.

 

Finally I would say raise your hand if you support nuclear power, want to host a wind farm, cut down shade trees to install solar panels or grant access to a power transmission line.  If you raise your hand, you can get off the floor and sit in a chair.

Now with all the hypocrisy in full view, let’s talk."

Till Next Time,

Energy Mom

New York City